Fred Hashimoto says his election as mayor of Corrales shows that village residents want to preserve a place they feel is rare and special.
“We agree to strenuously preserve what we love about Corrales and why we live in Corrales,” he said the morning after the election. “We don’t want to lose what we have.”
Hashimoto, who served on the Village Council from 1990 to 1994, defeated incumbent Mayor Jim Fahey 2,318 votes to 1,426 Tuesday, according to an unofficial tally provided by Sandoval County.
Hashimoto’s four-year term as mayor begins on Jan. 1.
He said he was pleasantly surprised by the turnout, which was up more than 43% from the 2022 election, in which Fahey bested Gary Kanin.
Hashimoto said Wednesday his immediate plans are to meet with village staff and have conversations with residents and local organizations, whether they supported his campaign or not.
“I want to talk more and listen more before I take any big steps,” he said.
Some of Fahey’s efforts, Hashimoto said, will continue under his leadership. Those include pursuit of water rights and developing a closer relationship with New Mexico Department of Transportation representatives in furtherance of safety improvements along Corrales Road (State Route 448), the village’s main drag. Hashimoto credits Village Councilor Rick Miera with starting the latter movement.
The mayor has the authority to fill three positions in Corrales’ government: the village clerk, village administrator and police chief. Hashimoto told the Corrales Comment he is “considering making changes in administration,” but will talk with the community to discern how to put together the best team.
Hashimoto said his campaign benefitted from a variety of participants, not the least of whom were young people, who crafted an effective social media plan.
Fahey, who served on the Village Council before being elected mayor, said Wednesday he’s done with public service for now.
He said he’s proud of his mayoral term, and listed among his accomplishments launching an update of the village’s water rights documentation, streamlining policies and procedures, guiding farmland preservation efforts and simplifying municipal elections by letting the county run them.
Fahey said the latter saves Corrales tens of thousands of dollars every election.
“All in all, it was a good three and a half years,” he said. “I’m sorry so many people were unhappy about it.”